What Happens Next?
by shipssetsailhere
Summary: After Starfire and Robin's relationship goes south, Raven is there to help. However, feelings take hold and complication ensue. Slow Burn. Raven/Starfire, Raestar, Star/Rae, Raven x Starfire
1. Chapter 1:The Breakup

Raven sat in her room in titan tower, crossed her legs and levitating above the bed. The room was darkened and the tomes she had to read neatly arranged. The entire room had a dark color theme from dark red, purple to black, it would be considered bleak by most people's standards. She had three books rotating around her as she read the books occasionally stopping and turning the pages as she read. There was a low rap at the door that was not sure who it was. "I'm meditating, please allow me the time." She said holding for a moment to listen for a response. The rap came again, a pleading rap on acknowledgement. Raven gave a moment for her annoyance to dissipate. She laid the books down with her powers and got to the door. Her usual leotard and cloak, her hood down however. She went to open the door and it slide open to reveal her teammate and fellow titan, Starfire. The girls orange skin glistened and had her entire body look gorgeous. Her usual uniform replaced with a large pink shirt and plaid green pants. Her Green eyes were puffy and she had tears running down her face. Raven was confused and curious lacking context to the situation. "Star, are you okay?"

"Friend- Raven…." She tried to finish but she simply shook her head no, crying harder. Raven motioned for Starfire to come in and sit on the bed. She complied.

"Alright." Raven started and grabbed her hand. "I need you to breath deeply a few times and relax." Starfire took a few deep breaths and stopped for a moment. She rubbed her eyes and huffed out a breath. She allowed for her relaxed persona to take over for herself. However, she had lost her bubble and her smile. Raven was hoping she could fix this somehow but she was unsure how.

"It's over." Starfire had another tear run down her face as she was trying to remain composed. Raven sat back for a moment trying to think what could make Starfire this upset and contemplating her response. Starfire suddenly blurted out, "Robin and I. He did the breaking up with me." Raven was shocked and she wasn't sure what to do with her. Before she cold react, Raven grabbed Starfire in a tight embrace. Raven could feel the cloak getting wet as Star sobbed into it. She patted the back of her head and Starfire eventually allowed her crying to subside. She threw herself back onto the bed as the she rested. Raven sat there in silence for at thirty minutes with her unsure what to say or do.

"Hey Starfire." Raven said suddenly, making Star swivel her head to star at the purple haired beauty. "You want some Ice cream? I know a place that is really nice and you can walk in how ever you like. They don't care about appearance." Raven curled the edge of her mouth into a half cocked smile. Starfire nodded her head and the two girls made their way to a cozy place. The walls were a dark wood and the tables were a light wood. That contrasted sharply. It appeared more like a coffee shop than an ice cream shop. "I thought this place was a coffee and tea shop, that's how I found it. I occasionally fly into the city to come here and get a drink or ice cream just to unwind." Raven nods at the man at a the counter and he immediately starts to make a scoop ice cream. Starfire looks at the menu attempting to make sense of some the words she hadn't encountered and had trouble with. "Want me to order for you?"

"Yes, please." Starfire nodded and laid her head on Raven's shoulder. "Thank you." Raven looks at the barista.

"Can I also have a triple scoop Rainbow?" The man simply nods at her as he begins. He is a large individual tall and round. His forearms are littered with tattoos and he appears to be an expert in the ice cream industry. He has a black T-shirt with light khaki jeans on. He quickly finishes what they ask for. They grab a table in the back of the place and get each examines what the other has. "Its Black licorice." Raven says reading Starfire's mind. "It is a really good if you want to try some. Starfire nods and leans over to lick off a small portion of the ice cream.

"It is bitter, but it is also sweet." Starfire ponders for a moment of whether she likes it or not. She then inhales the first bite of hers and immediately breaks into a smile. Raven smiles at the Redhead glad to see that her attitude is partially restored and she is in better spirits.

"Do you like it?" Raven looks at her trying to gauge her response better.

"I love it. Would you like some?" Starfire smiles at her friend.

"Yes please. Thank you." Raven takes a bite and immediately it is too sweet and overpowers her senses. She smiles through the discomfort but is okay with it after a few seconds. She nods at starfire, "I think I'll stick with mi-"

"I would like to talk about what happened now if that would please you, Raven." Starfire looks extremely determined to want to discuss the new developments.

"Of course, Starfire." Starfire then goes off to explain the how that she and Robin had grown apart in their time together and that there were things that Starfire was not willing to do that Robin wanted. Inevitably, they decided that they were too different and should remain as friends and teammates. This was hard for her, but Robin seemed more unaffected by it then she did. She had loved him and it hurt. Raven didn't know how to respond or what to say about what happened. "I'm so sorry."

"It was not your fault, Friend- Raven." She tilted her head back as she finished her cone of ice cream. "You are a good friend."

"Nah, I just like you." She smiles and Starfire just nods. "We should get going." Starfire and Raven grab their things and begin to head out the door. Starfire steps out the door and before Raven can leave the barista speaks up.

"You two make a cute couple." The burly man nods and relaxes.

"We aren't together." Raven fires back. He just scoofs.

"Okay, that a shame. They would be nice if yall were though. One hell of a power couple." The man laughs. Raven's annoyance is visible.

"I don't swing that way, Mick." He laughs harder.

"Everyone likes everyone, there's a spectrum. Everyone has someone they wouldn't be straight for." He puts his hand pointing at starfire. "I would bet that she is yours."

"Alright, I'll sleep on it." Raven says huffing her way out of the store. Starfire looks at Raven curiously.

"Are you alright?" Starfire looks genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, Mick was being a jerk." Raven states bluntly.

"Shall we fight him for honor?" Starfire's eyes and hands begin to glow green.

"No, No, let's just go home." And like that The two girls call it a night as they head to Titan tower.

"Thank you, Friend-Raven."


	2. Chapter 2: The Plan

Raven woke up in bed and immediately needed a cup of tea. She floated out the door and down to the kitchen in the titan tower. Standing in front of her in the kitchen was Starfire who was desperately trying to figure out the way to allow the tea to seep. She lacked the knowledge but had it boil and the tea in its round sieve. She turned to face Raven and spoke quietly.

"I'm sorry Friend Raven, I lacked the knowledge of the tea, but I wanted to do something for you since you were trying to help. Forgive me." She bowed her head to the girl clad in her cloak. Everything was right just needed a few tweaks to get it right. The Black mug had the steam from the water pouring out the top as Raven always liked it.

"Star, you don't need to do anything for me. I appreciate it, just don't worry about it." Raven smiled at her friend. She took the cup of ball of the leaves and placed them in a little device and dropped it into the tea and waited as it slowly made the tea. Starfire watched the liquid changed the color from clear to a light brown. She was fascinated and was making a note of it in her head. Raven waited and watched as Starfire kept to be making more mental notes to herself.

"Now, I will know for tomorrow." Starfire smiled as she spun towards the hallway and floated out the doorway. She stopped, turned to face Raven, And simply smiled at the girl. Then proceeded to float away. Raven just waited for her tea to seep and after it was ready took a sip and gently set the cup back on the counter. It burned her throat and she sighed in contentment. She heard The sound of footsteps down the hall and turned to see Robin standing there. He nodded at the girl and started to make a cup of coffee.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Raven sips her tea as she asks the question, leaning against a counter.

"No, I always drink coffee." He gave a side eye to the goth girl.

"You do, however you are sluggish, which is not a side effect of your lack of coffee." He turned to face her. His expression was of annoyance and discontent. "You really shouldn't wear your emotions." The purple hair girl sipped her tea and smiled slightly.

"Great, Now, I'm getting lectures from you. I already had a great conversation with Cyborg and BB." He said with sarcasm in his voice. "Go ahead, tell me what I should do, Tell me how much of an asshole I am, or Tell me how I royally fucked up. What will it be?" He started to raise his voice slightly. Raven took a minute to contemplate what she should do next.

"Nope, I'm going to tell you that you are the leader of this team and if you want to remain the leader of the team you need to work out what is in your head and control your emotions." Robin went to respond but Raven cut him off. "I don't know what conversation you are referring to with Beastboy or Cyborg. I will ask them about it later and I can form an opinion." Robin huffed and said angrily.

"That's still telling me something to do, you know?" Gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"I'm well aware." Raven gave a slight smile as Robin finished making his coffee and stormed off to somewhere. The rest of the morning was relatively quiet. No one else entered the kitchen while Raven was in there. She was thankful for the small miracle and retreated to her room away from the others. She sat in the middle of the bed and slowly began to float a few inches off the mattress as she meditated. Her mind began to clear and she was lost from the events of her friends. She suddenly heard a hard knock on the door and broke out of her concentration. She noticed that it had been a few hours. She walked to through the dark room to her door and contemplated answering the door and having to interact with others. The loud bang came from the door and she decided it would be best to open the door. She was met by a metallic chest piece from her favorite half-human half-robot. "Hey, Cyborg."

"What's up, Rae, You got a minute?" Cyborg said while waving his hand a simply way to kind of break the tension in his own way.

"Yeah, come in." She opens the door completely and he steps his huge figure inside and grabs the chair from my desk to take a seat.

"So, I'm sure you noticed Robin's new personality." He said while rubbing his hands.

"Yes, an absolute ray of sunshine." Raven crosses her arm in front of her. "I don't get it, didn't he really want to? It was a mutual split." she shrugged while keeping her arms crossed. Cyborg adjusted himself in the seat

"Yes and no." He started and then paused for a moment. "Robin wanted to have Starfire, but he wanted more in the... " Cyborg glanced at the ceiling trying to come up with an appropriate word. "Sexual department."

"I see." Raven held a moment questioning what to say next. "So, what do you think they should do?" Raven adjusted her stance and began to float to her bed as she talked.

"Honestly, stay split. I love the both of them, but as a couple they really had to work to maintain their own unique balance. It was rough from the start and needed work from the start." Cyborg sat back resting his head on the crease of his hand. "I think Starfire needs someone like robin in a sense. Someone to keep her grounded and teach her, but not exploit that curiosity."

"Yeah, that makes the most sense. So you?" Raven sits on the edge of the bed.

"No. Two reasons. One, I'm a guy right after a break up and while I don't think that starfire necessarily sees that as a problem, I don't want Boy Wonder getting the wrong idea. Two. I have my hands filled with Boy wonder and fixing that nasty attitude he developed." Cyborg throws his arm up on either side of him and lets them fall back down. "I was thinking you could take Star." He smiles widely.

"I know I can't argue with you. Can I?" Raven huffs at the tin man.

"Well, it's you or BB so…." Cyborg emphasis the idea with his body language.

"I'll handle it." She says defeated. Not to say that Beastboy isn't a good friend, more Like inadequately equipped emotionally to handle the situation. "Wait, Why Beastboy? He is also potentially after Star, Right?" Raven asks having already pondered an answer.

"Well, BB has a slight obsession that we all think would keep him from Starfire." Cyborg Says gingerly avoiding any strange tone or weird saying of some kind.

"Me?" Raven states blandly. Cyborg just confirms with a nod. "He has got to stop. I told him, I'm not interested." Raven says without changing tone of expression.

"Yeah, I know. But this way, you have a reason to stay away from him, Robin isn't going get more upset, And Starfire is happy. The only losers are us and I will make it up to you." He says with a giant smile and a hand extended. She reluctantly takes his hand afraid she will regret her decision. "Thanks, Rae. I'm going go get started on Bird Brain. See ya soon." He exits the room more excited than before. Raven takes a minute to meditate and think on what she she do with her friend. Suddenly, her mind lights up and she has the perfect idea.


	3. Chapter 3: The Conversation

"Where are we going friend-Raven?" Starfire looks at Raven in complete curiosity.

"You trust me Star?" Raven says under cloak at the Redhead. The girl from another world simply nods for confirmation of the question. Raven simply points up and they both fly into the sky outside of titan tower. They both keeping pace with the other, Starfire still looking inquisitively around searching for answers. "There is one thing that we can experience whenever we like rather than the boys or any human really. We can survive the harshness of space." Raven stopped and turned to face the earth they left behind. There was a coolness space that Raven enjoyed the vastness and depth. She knew Starfire would have never settled down to stop and enjoy it but this was probably the first time. She stopped and Raven took her by the shoulders and positioned her to float as the sun was just hitting the end of the Earth. "Watch." Starfire crossed her legs and floated perfectly still in position to the world. Raven did the same only inches away. It was hours not minutes that they had to wait for the surprise.

"Friend-Raven, What is it that we are doing here?" She said with her face askew into a worried look.

"Just waiting and talking." Raven took her hood and laid it back to reveal her face. "I figured you could use some time to converse given everything and your feelings of the situation. Plus, There is something beautiful up here." Raven smiled only slightly trying to give her some reassurance. Starfire simply stared at Raven seemingly trying to understand and decipher what the girl meant.

"You would like to discuss my feelings?" Starfire said slowly as if questioning the existence of the proposal in the first place. Raven simply nodded to keep Starfire talking. "Oh, well, to be honest, I feel unfeeling." Starfire tapped her long pointer finger to her chin.

"Like numb?" Raven asked.

"Numb?" Starfire said tilting her head.

"Like there is no feeling to the world and you can't feel emotion or physical things." Raven explained resting her arms on her crossed legs.

"No, I feel emotions. But I only feel sadness and loneliness. I still feel physical things as well." Starfire looked away from Raven. Raven in that moment empathized with Starfire. She had felt that feeling before, but for an entirely different reason. "I fear as though there is little to no way for me to reaffirm with Robin and there I feeling like my team spent with him has taken away from other people we call as friends. I'm unsure on how I fit within the people that are on Earth." Starfire's voice was low and fractured. "My grasp of the language is not good, and many cannot look over that, while I'm often the most different in a room and stand in the center." Raven choose not to correct her and kept the misuse to herself deciding it was not necessary at the moment.

"I could always help you with English Starfire. You have plenty of time to learn if that is bothering you. It won't stop all the miscommunications with people but it could help." Raven rests her hand on starfire shoulders assuringly.

"Thank you friend- Raven." Starfire smiles slightly. "On Tamaran, The average Tamarrean would be allowed to choose a mate, like on Earth. But often the daughters and sons of rulers were used as a bargaining chips. My parents were against using us like that, but there was the possibility that it must be done." Starfire eyes looked dark again in deep and unknowing contemplations of the situation. "The reason why it hurt so, was the choice I had been able to make and I was no longer wanting to make it. On Tamaran, My choices were limited on who to love, But then I came here and my heart yearned to love all, but then I choose wrong." A teardrop floated off her cheek and into the vacuum of space. "Maybe love is for the naive." There hung a silence for what seemed like hours. Raven pulled her friend into a hug.

"No, Star you are not. You are young. Everyone learns from mistakes that they make and you are no exception. You can learn from this and move on. No need to dwell on this." Raven could have laughed at the hypocrisy of her statement. She could give advice, but often couldn't follow her own. "You are beautiful, smart, kind, and fun to be with. There will be more opportunity with people and you can move on." Raven let the girl go and Starfire had a noticeably better expression.

Starfire smiled widely simply saying, "I'm surprised pleasantly, usually being so cold, I would have thought you would have told me to get over it." Raven blushed and looked away from Starfire.

"Well, I thought it would be better to hear kindness rather than my usual scowl. I know it is weird and out of character, but I think I'm just coming out more." Raven smiled slightly turning back to Starfire.

"I see." Starfire continued to smile at the girl. "What is this surprise?" Raven looked to Earth and noticed the lights of Jump City were all on. Starfire traced Raven's glance and immediately her eyes went wide with awe. "It's incredible." Starfire let her thoughts fall from her lips.

"Only A few minutes now." Raven calmly said still looking at the location as the artificial lights of earth gave a Yellow pattern to dance on Earth's Surface.

"What is the glow of the Earth not the Surprise?" Starfire said mouth agape and looking at her friend.

"Not quite." Raven said nonchalantly. "More like that." Raven pointed in front of her at the Earth. Starfire quickly followed Raven's Finger to edge of the planet which had become engulfed in a yellow brim with a single yellow dot that was the Earth's Sun.

"It's beautiful, Raven." She was awestruck and memorized by the sight.

"Sometimes stopping and looking at the beauty around you is the best thing you can do to clear your mind." Raven admired the view for a few minutes in silence. "This always reminds me when I come here that no matter what happens. The Earth will still turn and form a new day." Raven looked to find Starfire staring at her intently. "Everything okay Star?" Raven said hoping she had not said or down something to upset the girl.

"Not in the slightest, Just admiring the beauty." Starfire smiled as Raven blushed at the compliment. Raven felt her stomach do a flip and assumed there was something behind her. She did not dare check because if there wasn't she would not be able to write it off as something in space.

"You think we should head back?" Raven asked as the Earth finally overtook the Sun and encased the two in darkness.

"Yes, we should." Starfire began her descent. Raven was still awestruck by the seeming compliment. She dared to turn around and saw that the planet Mars was distinctly visible by the red glow it was giving off and would have been right behind her. Raven breathed a sigh of relief. She could not deal with Starfire and Beastboy being infatuated with her.


	4. Chapter 4: The Want

"Oh come on rae!" Beast Boy kept his pace behind her as she floated through the halls. "Just one little date never hurt anyone." Raven was trying her best to ignore the shapeshifter as he had been at this for several hours and her patience was running thin as he pressed on. The walls of Titan Tower seemed to be closing down onto her. "You know, I know this really good veggie burger place that is really good." Raven finally turned to face him, her anger seething from her. Her eyes had begun glowing red as she stared from under her hood. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Starfire.

"Hello Friend Beastboy, Friend Raven." Starfire smiled widely. Raven took a deep breathing relieving it with a sigh and composing herself. Beast Boy was the first to respond.

"Sorry, Star. But Rae and I are kinda in the middle of a conversation." He leaned into the redhead, dropping his voice low. "I'm trying to put the moves on her."

"Ah, splendid. I'm trying to put the moves on Raven as well." Starfire kept smiling ear to ear. Raven quickly connected that she must have thought it meant talking.

"Uh huh." Beast Boy nodded. "Well, I'm not sure how you beat a veggie burger." He smiled confidently as he seemed to be beaming from his idea.

"I was actually wondering if Friend-Raven had a moment to discuss a decision that she may have experience with, also if she would like to accompany me." Starfire seemed slightly worried from the expression she was giving off. The vague details had Raven curious of the endeavor and was more eager for that than a veggie burger. It was finally Raven's turn to speak.

"Well, I need some more details than that, but it definitely sounds more enticing that Garfield's offer." Raven let a small smile form across her lips as Beast Boy seemed to deflate his personality. Starfire nodded her head and tucked her arms around herself as if she was trying to stay warm.

"I will give more details but I would prefer if the rest of this conversation was in private." Starfire stated shyly, A complete change from her usual self. Raven was slightly concerned with everything going on recently if Starfire was feeling alright.

"Yeah, My room is closest if you would like there or your room. Whichever you are comfortable with." Raven kept her voice steady trying not to sound a preference to one or the other. She understood if it was going to be a heavy topic, there needed to be a level of comfort the person doing the talking should have.

"Splendid." Starfire smiled still holding herself. They simply left a dumbfounded Garfield standing there trying to make sense of what just happened. His mouth still wide open and his entire life changing in one small conversation with the two girls. Starfire floated past Raven's room which made Raven think that the matter was very serious given the number of times that Starfire would stop in recently. As they were walking through they ran into Cyborg who stopped them.

"Sup, You two?" He smiled with his wide grin.

"Not much, Friend-Cyborg. Friend-Raven I will be waiting in my room when you are done speaking." Before either of them could respond Starfire had left them.

"She feeling alright?" Cyborg planted his hand on the back of his neck signalling his nervousness.

"I'm not sure, we are talking about something serious when I get in there." Raven nodded at the half-Human. He nodded as he acknowledged what she was saying. "How's boy wonder?"

"Still boy wonder." Cyborg said moving his hands on his hips and shaking his head." You know him, dense as steel and stubborn as everything." He chuckled to himself and Raven joined him.

"Yeah sounds like it."

"Mind if I ask you something?" Cyborg suddenly turned serious.

"If you are going to ask me out please wait until tomorrow. Beast Boy has been at it for four hours and I just finally was able to get rid of him." Cyborg chuckled.

"Nah, I was wondering if Starfire had been or saying anything weird about gay or lesbian relationships." Raven raised an eyebrow at the hulk of a man.

"Um… No. Did she say something to you about them?" Raven was genuinely curious.

"Yeah, She wanted to know Earth's and other places views on them. I didn't know how to explain it. Might give you an idea of what you are walking into." Cyborg's face said how serious this was to him and the implications it carried with explaining it Starfire. "Just remember our arrangement." He nodded at her He pivoted on his heel to leave.

"Hey wait one second." Raven stopped him. "Can you do me a favor and I'll just owe you one."

"Sure." Cyborg nodded.

"Keep Garfield in check. Please. He's really plucking my last nerve and he doesn't listen to us, but he does listen to you." Raven felt weird to be asking for more help with this issue, but she knew it was the best course of action.

"Yeah, that's Easy." The Tin man smiled into a wide smile as he kept walking into the same direction he had intended and threw up one hand to wave goodbye to his friend. "Good Luck." Raven turned and kept walking down the hallway to Starfire's room and she stopped outside the door preparing herself for the worst. She expected a balling Starfire who was struggling with emotions and needed a friend. Raven took three small knocks on the door and waited, she was trying to avoid terrifying her. She knew she couldn't really, but she was use to it from the years of doing it by accident with people. Starfire answered the door and let a small smile spread across her face.

"I'm glad you came Raven. Please in." Starfire unblocked the doorway to allow her in the room. The colors and brightness of the room that Starfire was so accustomed to was toned down slightly. Raven honestly appreciated the more muted tones, although it did still remain pinks and purples they just weren't as vibrant. This did have Raven worried of her condition considering the whole of the situation, which made Raven feel guilty.

"Thanks Star, Did you paint?" Raven lifted her hood back to reveal her short hair that framed her face.

"I did. You said that the bright colors hurt your eyes, I was hoping that you would be more willing to see me now." Starfire smiled wider as Raven's heart dropped the guilt consuming her.

"Thanks Starfire. I like it but you didn't have to go through the trouble you should just be you." Raven slid her hand on Starfire shoulder. "Trust me, it's not easy or fun pretending to be something you aren't." Starfire simply nodded and kept smiling.

"You are right Raven." Starfire stepped back from Raven and sat on her bed. "I have need to speak with you." Starfire shifted uncomfortably on the bed, Raven took a seat close by but kept some distance to keep Starfire comfortable.

"You can talk to me about anything Star. Just say it." Raven smiled trying to seem inviting. Starfire took a deep breath and close her eyes.

"I want a tattoo."


End file.
